First encounter with Mahabharata - Page 2

This content was originally posted by: arnavfluffy

Stories i have always grown up hearing it.

Then I read Amar Chitra Katha

Then the only TV show I saw was 2013 Mahabhart that too reccently. I wish i had seen it earlier

I love love love Krishna!!!! He is so intelligent, powerful, divine , maternal, protective . Just wow

I love the Krishna / Draupadi relationship!!

I am really forward to reading more about their relationship. Please suggest some books!

Krishna the god who lived as a man. 

And another one is Aryavarth chronicles by krishna udayshnakar. They  are the best ones. 

This content was originally posted by: Poorabhforever

Krishna the god who lived as a man. 

And another one is Aryavarth chronicles by krishna udayshnakar. They  are the best ones. 

Thank you soo much!!!

During the time Mahabharat of Star Plus was aired, we in Mauritius, we had the re-telecasting of the old Mahabharat, and also Geet was being aired...

I watched the promo of this MB and was like, "i know this guy" (Shakuni)... I was like, it can't be... I was staying at my mom's poupou's place for like 2 days of the week, so, I was like "I'll check it when I get home from Uni".... I Googled it, found that Adi Sir and Shakuni were in fact played by the same actor.. So, I googled the whole list of characters, even if I knew a few from the old Mahabharat... Yeah, you can say it was a hobby for me at that time... 

Just saw this thread. Mukesh Khanna did't say it; Vaishampayana did.

dharme chArthe cha kAme cha mokShe cha bharatarShabha |
yadihAsti tadanyatra yannehAsti na tatkvachit || 33||

Critical edition - 1:56

O scion of the Bharat race, whatever dharma, artha, kaam and moksha exist in the world, exist in the text, whatever is not in the text does not exist elsewhere.

This content was originally posted by: Poorabhforever

When and how did you came to know about Mahabharata ??

I have to confess that the first time i got to know about mb was through ekta s KHMK. 😆

I remember watching the vh sequence  that s was how I came to know about mb drapaudi and everyone else. 

Then star mb happened and I started reading about drapaudi and other Mahabharata characters. But specifically drapaudi and krishna why ? Because i was in awe of them 

But it was only during karan sagini that i read kmg and a bit of CE. Still in process though   

That s how i came to know these two wonderful character and my awe/love/respect for these two has only increased over the year. Other characters that i came to like are bheem abhimanyu arjuna subdhara vikarna. Etc 

I read other takes and interpretation on mb like jaya , AC, Arjuna without a doubt, krishna the god who lived as a man  indrajit bhandopadhy s articles. 

Also have to confess that i use to like karna based on how he is potrayed in popular culture but now i absolutely loathe him and yudhishtra. 

Arjun without a doubt , made joke of arjun , krishna , lord krishna never blackmailed draupadi to accept subhadra nor does arjun ever suggested subhadra's hand for nakul & sehdev but just to glorify amar prem of draupadi & arjun . They tend to write mahabharat from arjun's pov but they feel it was crime that arjun luved subhadra also , so they portray that arjun was forced to marry subhadra which is a big lie. They say its arjun's POV but actually its their pov which dont except the truth. No doubt arjun luved draupadi but as one of the pandava but he luved subhadra as mighty arjun himself .

I first learnt about Mahabharata in history books I think. Probably in 3rd or 4th standard, our history book had mentioned Ramayana & Mahabharata as our ancient epics & had the story of both in brief. Brief matlab very brief, wouldn't cross even 1 page each 😆

After that, in 5th standard, I got to read Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury's "Cheleder Ramayan" & "Cheleder Mahabharat" ( means Ramayana for children & Mahabharata for Children) which are staple reads for any Bengali children. As you can guess from names, those are abridged versions of the epics, edited & written for children and did not have any detailed storytelling. After that I passed few years without any contact with Mahabharata....& then read Rajshekhar Basu's Mahabharata (another abridged version of Mahabharata in Bengali, this one meant for adults though 😆) while I was in 11th or 12th standard.

Again I forgot all about it.....& then recently binge watched Star Plus's Mahabharat in Hotstar for timepass amidst this lockdown and now my interest is seriously piqued. 😆 The series was meh in terms of story (though I enjoyed the visuals😛)....but the discussions I got to read here & in quora are very intriguing & now I am seriously interested in Mahabharat & trying to read Bibek Debroy's translation of the BORI CE Mahabharat. I tried the KMG one first...but that one's language seemed a bit tough to digest 😆

Edited to add : Oh ! I have read Jaya by Devdutt Pattnaik too.... I read it right after finishing SP's MB....but it was not much of an interesting read. I didn't read anything that I already didn't know. 

This content was originally posted by: deepikagupta9

Arjun without a doubt , made joke of arjun , krishna , lord krishna never blackmailed draupadi to accept subhadra nor does arjun ever suggested subhadra's hand for nakul & sehdev but just to glorify amar prem of draupadi & arjun . They tend to write mahabharat from arjun's pov but they feel it was crime that arjun luved subhadra also , so they portray that arjun was forced to marry subhadra which is a big lie. They say its arjun's POV but actually its their pov which dont except the truth. No doubt arjun luved draupadi but as one of the pandava but he luved subhadra as mighty arjun himself .

While Arjun Without A Doubt did fictionalize and glorify his pairing with Panchali, what you said here is also not correct.

In epic, Arjuna doesn't say a word about Subhadra until Krishna asks him if he would like to marry her. There was no love story there, either. Krishna asks Arjuna to kidnap Subhadra since they had no way of knowing how she would react to a proposal from Arjuna. The abduction was suggested by Krishna and executed by Arjuna, WITHOUT Subhadra's consent. 

All these marriages were political. Subhadra's actually involved extremely questionable behavior on part of Arjuna and Krishna. Panchali's was arranged by Vyasa.

One thing it would behoove us to remember is while MBh has romantic entanglements, it's hardly a love story. 99.99% of the actions of the characters was governed by contemporaneous politics. 

This content was originally posted by: HearMeRoar

While Arjun Without A Doubt did fictionalize and glorify his pairing with Panchali, what you said here is also not correct.

In epic, Arjuna doesn't say a word about Subhadra until Krishna asks him if he would like to marry her. There was no love story there, either. Krishna asks Arjuna to kidnap Subhadra since they had no way of knowing how she would react to a proposal from Arjuna. The abduction was suggested by Krishna and executed by Arjuna, WITHOUT Subhadra's consent. 

All these marriages were political. Subhadra's actually involved extremely questionable behavior on part of Arjuna and Krishna. Panchali's was arranged by Vyasa.

One thing it would behoove us to remember is while MBh has romantic entanglements, it's hardly a love story. 99.99% of the actions of the characters was governed by contemporaneous politics. 

Arjun's reaction on seeing Subhadra is described thus.  Drishtvaiva. Taamarjunasya kandarpamajayata.  As soon as Arjuna beheld her, he was possessed by the god of desire.  Krishna teased him. Vanecharasya. Kimidam   Kamenalosyate manah.can the heart of a forest dweller agitated by the god of desire?    Arjun's confession. Goes thus.vasudeva's daughter and vaasudeva's sister,extremely beautiful whom shall she not fascinate?    On the advice of Krishna ,Arjun get's. Ready to abduct her prior to which he seeks permission from Yudhishtir for that act,  When Arjun finally gets into action,he seizes subhadra's by force and keeping her in his chariot,he starts for Indraprasth,Tatah sa purushavyaghrah...suchismitaam... Here subhadra is described as the girl who is smiling or the girl of sweet smiles.       If we observe the whole thing, it is crystal clear that Arjun is besotted by Subhadra  which he readily admits.Some feel that it is a forceful abduction done without subhadra's approval.But master poet Ved Vyasa removes any such confusion by using a single word suchismitaam..Subhadra's positive reaction is indicated by her smile.I don't think subhadra is unaware of her cousin,Her brother's dear friend and great warriorArjun.Telugu mahabharat written by nannya ,Tikkana and errana gives a good reasoning for the elopement of Subhadra with Arjun.They say that prominent Yadav Garg sang praises of Arjun's valour and beauty  in Dwarakanagar and subhadra is smitten by that.So both are equally passionate towards each other. Otherwise it won't be difficult for the Yadava princess to indicate her displeasure.      One more point to be noted.  The abduction happened only after Yudhi gave his consent.No such permission was sought in case of ulupi or chitrangada.Then why did Arjun sent messengers to Indraprasth,Toseek Yudhishtir's permission .

( this explaination as taken by Ltelidevara post ).

no where lord krishna forced arjun to abduct subhadra , or blackmailed draupadi to accept subhadra which this book displayed , that i objected coz i felt wrong & arjun suggesting subhadra's hand for nakul sahdev is way to insult subhadra in other way writer tried to portray subhadra was like burden on arjun . 

whether people like or not but subhadra is a part of arjun life 

can u prove arjun married subhadra without  any interest in her & favoured lord krishna by marrying her   , can u prove arjun dont luv subhadra .

south indian version has full version of arjun subhadra love story , can u prove it is a big lie ?

mahabharat is a poltical drama but definately not amar prem kahani of arjun draupadi 4 sure, there was no amar prem b/w arjun draupadi coz draupadi was eternal soulmate of all 5 pandavas not only of arjun.

 but it has own romantic  flavour which includes arjun and his 4 wives relationship which no one can denied as all version so MB says that.

Who is saying Subhadra was not part of Arjuna's life?

What you're claiming is very different, though. Your post actually said Arjuna loved Panchali only as part of the 5 brothers while he loved Subhadra as himself. 

Let's take your citations one by one.

Arjuna was struck by same Kaama on meeting Panchali AND Chitrangada. Nowhere is LOVE mentioned. Either he fell equally in love with all 3 ladies, or he fell in lust.

And no, Vyasa doesn't remove any doubt by mentioning Subhadra's smile. It only means Subhadra was a generally pleasant girl.

Krishna's dialogue that he doesn't know what she would choose is clearly mentioned. As well as the fact Arjuna FORCIBLY took her away.

I am able to decipher Sanskrit😆, so the fact that it was an abduction is pretty evident.

Secondly, I hate to get into shipping wars, but when dubious claims are made, I feel the need to respond. While there is NOTHING in the canon text which suggests a love story later for Arjuna Subhadra, there is plenty from him for Panchali. Actually, there is some evidence of it for Chitrangada, also. In fact, Panchali taunts Arjuna about not caring or some such, and he responds by saying she doesn't know what's in his heart. The jewelry gifting is another, and the fact that he carried her in his arms to Matsya desh. Then, his mentioning of Yudhishtira sitting on Panchali's bed while asking Arjuna to go do the killing.

Now, all this might be because Subhadra doesn't have much role in the plot as such while Panchali of course does. But again, your post actually said Arjuna loved her only as part of the 5 brothers while he loved Subhadra as himself. Available evidence says he loved Panchali plenty while Subhadra was the sister of a very important ally. 

Most important piece of evidence is what I left for last. ARJUNA WAS THE ONLY ONE TO BREAK RANKS IN THE DICE HALL AGAINST HIS BROTHERS. When Suyodhana asked for any of the brothers to state they would support Panchali's claim Yudhishtira had no right to stake her, Arjuna was the ONLY one who stood up. What more proof do you need when Arjuna himself showed his affection for her was separate from his being part of the Pandava family?

Once again, I don't believe any of these marriages started out as love stories. They were political. Period. That he was struck by "God of Desire'" each time he met a potential ally with a good looking woman in his household was convenient for his hormones. Affection CAN develop after. Unfortunately, Vyasa didn't choose to give us glimpses of it in the Arjuna Subhadra story while he did for Arjuna Panchali.

Now, coming to southern recension, yes, the love story between Arjuna and Subhadra is there, but again nothing to support your claim that he loved her as himself while only loving Panchali as part of the Pandavas. And southern recension does have evidence of Arjuna's love for Panchali.

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I can't believe I said all this while also not believing in polyandry 🤣. As I said I felt compelled to point out incongruities between text and the post.

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Let me conclude by saying there is really no need to tear one woman down to prop up the other. Arjun Without A Doubt did it to Subhadra. Many books do it to Panchali. Some posts on this thread, including mine, did it. 

The 2 women in question supported each other very much. Actually, some southern versions say women rescued Panchali in the dice hall, and I love to imagine it was Subhadra. She WAS with them on the trip even in northern recension, after all.

I didn't mean to say Arjuna didn't love Subhadra. I hope to God he did. I was only trying to refute some claims which simply aren't supported by text. No, not the part about him loving Subhadra as himself. The part about him loving Panchali ONLY as part of the Pandavas. 

May Subhadra's soul, if there are such things, forgive me for it.😆

This content was originally posted by: HearMeRoar

Who is saying Subhadra was not part of Arjuna's life?

What you're claiming is very different, though. Your post actually said Arjuna loved Panchali only as part of the 5 brothers while he loved Subhadra as himself. 

Let's take your citations one by one.

Arjuna was struck by same Kaama on meeting Panchali AND Chitrangada. Nowhere is LOVE mentioned. Either he fell equally in love with all 3 ladies, or he fell in lust.

And no, Vyasa doesn't remove any doubt by mentioning Subhadra's smile. It only means Subhadra was a generally pleasant girl.

Krishna's dialogue that he doesn't know what she would choose is clearly mentioned. As well as the fact Arjuna FORCIBLY took her away.

I am able to decipher Sanskrit😆, so the fact that it was an abduction is pretty evident.

Secondly, I hate to get into shipping wars, but when dubious claims are made, I feel the need to respond. While there is NOTHING in the canon text which suggests a love story later for Arjuna Subhadra, there is plenty from him for Panchali. Actually, there is some evidence of it for Chitrangada, also. In fact, Panchali taunts Arjuna about not caring or some such, and he responds by saying she doesn't know what's in his heart. The jewelry gifting is another, and the fact that he carried her in his arms to Matsya desh. Then, his mentioning of Yudhishtira sitting on Panchali's bed while asking Arjuna to go do the killing.

Now, all this might be because Subhadra doesn't have much role in the plot as such while Panchali of course does. But again, your post actually said Arjuna loved her only as part of the 5 brothers while he loved Subhadra as himself. Available evidence says he loved Panchali plenty while Subhadra was the sister of a very important ally. 

Most important piece of evidence is what I left for last. ARJUNA WAS THE ONLY ONE TO BREAK RANKS IN THE DICE HALL AGAINST HIS BROTHERS. When Suyodhana asked for any of the brothers to state they would support Panchali's claim Yudhishtira had no right to stake her, Arjuna was the ONLY one who stood up. What more proof do you need when Arjuna himself showed his affection for her was separate from his being part of the Pandava family?

Once again, I don't believe any of these marriages started out as love stories. They were political. Period. That he was struck by "God of Desire'" each time he met a potential ally with a good looking woman in his household was convenient for his hormones. Affection CAN develop after. Unfortunately, Vyasa didn't choose to give us glimpses of it in the Arjuna Subhadra story while he did for Arjuna Panchali.

Now, coming to southern recension, yes, the love story between Arjuna and Subhadra is there, but again nothing to support your claim that he loved her as himself while only loving Panchali as part of the Pandavas. And southern recension does have evidence of Arjuna's love for Panchali.

------

I can't believe I said all this while also not believing in polyandry 🤣. As I said I felt compelled to point out incongruities between text and the post.

------

Let me conclude by saying there is really no need to tear one woman down to prop up the other. Arjun Without A Doubt did it to Subhadra. Many books do it to Panchali. Some posts on this thread, including mine, did it. 

The 2 women in question supported each other very much. Actually, some southern versions say women rescued Panchali in the dice hall, and I love to imagine it was Subhadra. She WAS with them on the trip even in northern recension, after all.

I didn't mean to say Arjuna didn't love Subhadra. I hope to God he did. I was only trying to refute some claims which simply aren't supported by text. No, not the part about him loving Subhadra as himself. The part about him loving Panchali ONLY as part of the Pandavas. 

May Subhadra's soul, if there are such things, forgive me for it.😆

No where I said arjun dint loved Draupadi , thou I m arjun subhadra but can't deny arjun did loved Draupadi infact she is d most respected wife of arjun & Draupadi ne aisa koi gunnah nhi kiya ki arjun usse pyar na kaare .

What I meant by arjun loving Draupadi as Pandava and subhadra as mighty arjun himself was Draupadi was common wife of Pandav she spent individual years with each Pandavas but subhadra was exclusively only his even Chitrangada ( I don't know if I m able 2 make u understand  or not ) any way arjun equally luved all his wives never termed as partial husband .

Sorry I disagree no where in whole epic arjun once mentioned that he loved Draupadi more than his other wives , is just some thinking of fans. If subhadra was staked in place of Draupadi then also arjun reactions would be same only like his reaction came out for Draupadi, he would have lifted subhadra also in his arms if she was tired , he would have presented jewels 2 subhadra also . Arjun has not done anything so special for Draupadi which he would have not done for any of his other wife facing same problem.

Killing of karn was not only coz he insulted Draupadi but it was coz karna past connection with nar narayan also . With Draupadi without Draupadi any way he would had killed karna coz biggest truth of arjun's life is that he is incarnation of sage nar .

Draupadi may have been born 4 arjun , no where u can prove arjun was exclusively born for Draupadi.

D kind of amar prem people tried 2 portray b/w arjun Draupadi is not present only , if arjun really loved Draupadi so much then he would have never married again . He loved Draupadi for sure but it was not amar prem.

Be it Draupadi, Subhadra, uloopi, Chitrangada no one was soulmate of sage nar .

Lord Ram loved goddess sita beyond limit , he also used 2 get lot of marriage proposal but he rejected all thou he was d king  . This called amar prem.

Only bheem and Sahdev r only husband of Draupadi who actually took her revenge without any past life connection, bhim slayed all 100 kauravs & Sahdev killed Shakuni.

What I felt I pointed out . I don't wanted 2 hurt anyone , I m sorry 4 it .

# peace.